How Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) contribute to net-zero

If you’re a property or building owner in the UK, you probably have heard of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES).

But if you’re not. Or you’re new to property ownership, MEES are a set of standard rules brought in by the Government in 2018 for residential and commercially-let properties. These rules meant landlords could not grant or renew a tenancy of more than 6-months if the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating was ‘F’ or G.

Changes to MEES from 2025 and beyond

From 2025 onwards – the government has declared their wish to raise those standards further, which is likely to see the minimum standard rise to a D by 2025 and a C or even a B rating by 2030.

This means landlords will not be allowed to let a property with an EPC-rating of ‘E’ or lower, unless they have a valid certificate of exemption in place. Or continue letting sub-standard, non-domestic properties to existing tenants (even where there has been no tenancy renewal or extension), or to new tenants unless:

An exemption applies and has been registered with the Government
All relevant energy improvements have been made (or none can be made), the EPC-rating remains below E and the exception has been registered

But the overriding factor with MEES is how it helps the government to improve the energy efficiency of inefficient commercial and residential properties in England and Wales and reduce national CO2 emissions and energy bills for landlords and tenants.

How MEES contributes to net-zero

Making the UK’s housing more energy-efficient means the Government is taking giant strides in reducing carbon emissions of up to 57% by 2030 on 1990 levels.

And this is crucial because some energy generation is still carbon-heavy to produce, so lowering demand is vital for the environment.

So, by replacing inefficient boilers with modern heating systems, improving insulation and installing LEDs, tenants use less energy, lower their carbon footprint and help the UK take one step closer to reaching net-zero.

MEES LED lightbulb

And reaching net-zero is good for tenants’ expenditure too.

Why?

Because landlords who don’t plan for MEES will see a negative impact on the value of their assets (properties), like:

Increases in tenant void rates
Unplanned capital expenditure to ensure compliance
Legal sanctions
Non-compliance penalties

Are you MEES compliant?

Inteb can provide a MEES Asset Report that identifies cost-effective measures to meet the standards, including payback calculations and guidance on building specifications. The report also looks at improvements which can be made to commercial properties to improve their EPC-rating and reduce its energy demands, fuel costs and CO² emissions.

And we do this by reviewing:

Construction
Lighting
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)

After which, our technical team will examine improvements that would be practical. We also test a combination of measures to find scenarios that give the most significant improvement to the EPC-rating while maintaining a realistic prospect of achieving financial payback through energy savings within the installed products’ expected lifetime.

Inteb also carries out an analysis to assess whether the measures meet the seven-year payback rule. And, where no scenarios meeting this rule are found, this document may be used as the basis of an application for MEES exemption.